Regulators Take Look at Patent Firms' Impact

By

Brent Kendall And

Ashby Jones

Nov. 18, 2012 5:01 p.m. ET

U.S. antitrust authorities are examining whether specialized patent-holding firms—or "trolls" to their detractors—are disrupting competition in high-tech markets, opening a new front in a long-standing Silicon Valley battle.

"There's a possibility of competitive harm here," said Joseph Wayland, who served as the Justice Department's acting antitrust chief until last week, when he stepped down to return to private...